I got my girlfriend and I tickets to see Ben Rector for our anniversary. We are both a big fan and he makes sappy love songs.
Ben Rector put on a phenomenal show. Playing everything you would want him to. Some songs from the new album and all of the hits from the previous ones. He played my favorite song, “Old Friends” second.
Every song felt like an encore. It wasn’t a showy type of concert. No screen with videos were needed. The five piece band played so well together and Ben didn’t something that I really appreciated. He introduced his band before a new song started. He said his band was much funnier and talented than him and introducing them during a song wasn’t enough.
Ben Rector was very modest and very fun. He talked with the audience about his days in Boston and shared his golf scores with the crowd. He played some songs with just one other band member as they were very intimate.
It took me longer to get into this band then it should’ve. They are right up my alley. Like right up it.
I had heard the name, especially at two weddings over the past few years. Two years ago, I watched two good friends get married on the top of the mountain in Colorado and the bride walked down the aisle to one of their songs and their first dance was to another.
I then not only attended, but was the wedding officiant last year at another wedding where a song by Caamp was played as their first dance song.
I enter to win concert tickets all the time, thanks Do617 for these ones, and when I won tickets for Caamp at MGM in Boston I knew that I had to go.
I went into super prep mode, looking up their recent set lists and getting familiar with their songs.
I knew the fun covers they were doing on this tour, but needed to learn their own music.
The folk band sold out MGM Music Hall in Boston on both Saturday and Sunday. And Sunday was quite a night of energy and talent.
The band is fronted by one man, but every single person in the band sings, providing backup vocals and harmonies. Not only that, some members also trade off instruments or trade instruments with one another. There is a lot of talent to this band.
I just posted about how Bon Iver has a three-track EP coming out this month and has already released a track. This is the first new music released by Bon Iver in over five years. But even if we got new Bon Iver music every day, it’s still wouldn’t be enough. That is why I’ve put together a Spotify playlist so you can listen to my other Bon Iver. This includes Artists and bands that sound like them, as well as side projects and previous bands that Justin Vernon, Sean, Carrie, and other members have been in.
I will keep doing more as I think of them or discover them!
Justin Vernon – Before he started Bon Iver, Justin Vernon released music under his actual name. The songs are raw, emotional, beautiful, and he sounds like Springsteen. There is even a great medley out there called.” Drinking This Rain, I’m on Fire.”
DeYarmond Edison – The band that Justin was in during college.
The Shouting Matches – A trio that Justin is in that makes music for fans of The Stones and The Black Keys.
Gayngs – A soulful soft rock supergroup comprised of Justin and members of other bands like Megafaun, who the rest of DeYarmond Edison went on to start.
Volcano Choir – Another side project of Justin’s.
Kanye West’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the best albums ever made. Of any genre. And Bon Iver is on two tracks on this album including a sample of “Woods.”
The Tallest Man on Earth – Bob Dylan of Sweden. Mikey from Bon Iver went on to play violin for them.
James Vincent McMorrow – Basically Irish Bon Iver.
Cautious Clay – A phenomenal singer from Ohio with similar vocals.
Sleep Token – a British rock band from London. The song on this playlist is reminiscent of “Woods” where they use their vocals as the instrument.
Justin Nzouka – A singer-songwriter from Canada.
Francis and the Lights – Modern day Huey Lewis and the News. Has collaborated with Bon Iver.
José González – A phenomenal Swedish indie sfoll singer songwriter from Gothenburg. You have definitely heard “Heartbeats” before. His band, Junip, is also great.
Rogue Wave – A great band featured in some great movies.
Taylor Swift – You might have heard of her. Aarón Dessner, of The National, has been producing Taylor Swift for a few albums now and encouraged her to reach out to Justin and get him on a track from her album, Folklore.
The National. Get to know them. They founder Boston Calling with Bon Iver and Eaux Claire, the festival in Justin’s hometown in Vermont.
Iron & Wine – Very similar style. Received worldwide recognition with his Postal Service cover.
Ben Howard – Bon Iver of London with a fantastic guitar styling.
Gregory Alan Isakov – Bon Iver of Colorado.
Novo Amor – Welsh Bon Iver.
S. Carey – The solo project of Sean Carrey, the drummer of Bon Iver.
A few weeks ago, Bon Iver teased something on Instagram that got a lot of people excited. Including myself.
I first heard Bon Iver at a get together in college. I visited my friend at his school in New Hampshire and there was an option of Jack Daniels whiskey or marijuana. I was not a whiskey guy. I knew what I liked and didn’t like. I got high and then Bon Iver came on and everything changed forever. OK, maybe that is a little dramatic. But I have said that I want to create a bumper sticker that reads: Bon Iver was my therapist before I was in therapy.
I was obsessed. I still am. My ex had bought me a biography of his and I never got around to reading it because I didn’t feel like I really needed to. I could tell you everything about Justin. How he came up with the name for the band. The three original members. Every side project of his. Every project that his former band members and current band members have gone onto form. I even went to Eau Claire Wisconsin back in the day to see the festival that they put on with The National.
Justin recently announced a new EP, Sablet. The three-track album will come out on October 18th. The first single, “S P E Y S I D E,” has been released accompanied with a music video. The other two songs, “Things Behind Things Behind Things,”and “Awards Season,” will be released soon. The EP marks a return to Justin Vernon’s acoustic roots, reminiscent of For Emma, Forever Ago. The decision to strip back the sound comes after years of experimentation with a fuller band. Collaborators on the EP include producer Jim-E Stack and Rob Moose, who contributes viola.
Only 16 more days until we are blessed with three new tracks from one of the best musicians in history.
I grew up with Duncan. He graduated a few years ahead of me and I have been following his music career since my early teens. I have watched his music genres change, blend, and evolve of the years and found his lyrics only more relatable the older I get. He is a great singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist who can make a great sounding album with his own skills and talents.
I listened to this album from start to finish on a drive to New Hampshire recently, which seemed to just make sense. My son, who turns four soon, listened along and didn’t ask for Spider-Man the whole 10-song, 34 minute album. When I asked him what he thought, he said it was, “Great.”
The whole time I was listening to this album I had one thought: It reminds me of John Mayer’s Born and Raised mixed with the guitar licks of his other albums. This album seems like Pelletier’s Born and Raised. His dive into country music during a time in his life filled with changes.
About: Maine-based singer/songwriter Duncan Pelletier has been making music for over a decade in various capacities. As a solo artist, studio musician, and live theater composer, Pelletier tactfully weaves together elements of soft rock, blue-eyed soul, and traditional pop, resulting in a sound that benefits from influence while feeling uniquely his own.
“More Drugs” is a great song about mental health and just needing a little bit more time and more chemicals to figure everything out. I love the line about trying to get the codes right inside of you. And the organ in the bridge gives the whole song a southern feel.
“Nothing More” to come is another fun song about something ending. I really enjoy the bells in this one.
Up to Me” sounds like it could be a theme song to a 1990s television show. Did they still do that with modern television? If so, someone send this to Hollywood. I love the these lyrics, “Start feeling the pressure. Don’t dig in the dirt. I never felt better after I got hurt.”
“Nowhere At All” is a very reflective song filled with some twang and palm muted guitar and chorus that claims “I am everywhere, but nowhere at all.” And who hasn’t felt like that before?
“For a While” is the most country song on the whole album. Sounding like it was written on a rocking chair in Montana. Great guitar solo.
Start Right Here” also sounds like a theme song to a sitcom and I really love when the Oregon hits in this one.
I actually went ahead and added “Up to Me” to the Full House opening and it kind of works perfectly!
